Combined cradle



I I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. y W. MQMORDIH COMBINED CRADLE, SWING, AND CLOTHES DRIER.

No. 576,603, Patented FebfQ, 1897.

(NoModeL) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. B. MOMORDIE. OOMBINED'GRADLE, SWING,,.AN-D CLOTHES DRIER.

'No. 576,603. Patented Feb. 9, 1897.

UNTTED STATES ATENT met.

\VILLIAM EMMETT MCMORDIE, OF GATESVILLE, TEXAS.

COMBINED CRADLE, SWING, AND CLOTHES-DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 576,603, dated February 9, 1897.

Application filed April 9 1896. Serial No. 586,849. (No model.) 7

T 0 to whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM EMMETT Mc- MORDIE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gatesville, in the county of Ooryell and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Combined Cradle, Swing, and Clothes Drier, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to household furniture; and the object of the invention is to provide a cradle which may be easily and quickly converted into a childs swing or into a clothes rack or drier for the purpose of drying clothes either in a wet state or after the same have been ironed.

Other objects and advantages of the inventionwill appear in the course of the subjoined description.

The invention consists in certain novel features and details of construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings,and finallypointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved device adapted for use as a cradle, also showing by dotted lines the adaptation of the same to a swing. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the device adapted for use as a clothes-drier. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the same adapted to receive clothes after the same are ironed. Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section through one end of the cradle and one of the suspensionbars. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View showin g the manner in which the ends of the rocking-support are removably fitted in the standards.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 designates a suitable supporting-frame comprising the spaced standards 2, connected at top and bottom by cross-bars 3, and also having the base-bars 4 and the braces 5 interposed between the latter and the standards.

At or near their upper ends the standards are provided in their inner adjacent faces with inclined or oblique grooves o, in which are received the projecting end pintles 7 of a rocking supporting-bar 8. The inner or lower journal ends of said grooves are verti- The construction described admits of the.

rocking support 8 with its attachments being removed and replaced When necessary.

10 designates a pair of suspension-bars, which connect rigidly at their upper ends to the bar 8, said suspension-bars being of a length adapting them to swing clear of the lower cross-bar 3. The suspension-bars 10 are provided with longitudinal slots 11, which extend throughout their entire length, ornearly so, for the purpose of permitting the adj ustmentlongitudinally thereof of the cradle hereinafter described. a

12 designates the bottom frame of the cradle, said frame also forming the seat of the swing, and 13 and 14 represent the side and end frames, respectively, of the cradle. All of the frames 12, 13, and 14 are made in the open form illustrated in the drawings, and the side and end frames 13 and 14 are hinged to the side and end rails of the bottom frame 12, the latter being supported upon the suspension-bars 10 by means of threaded bolts 15, which extend through the slots of the bars 10 and receive upon their ends the thumbnuts 16. The bottom frame 12 and the side frames 13 are each provided with a series of parallel wires or rounds extending longitudinally thereof, while the end frames 14 are provided with parallel wires or rounds which extend vertically when the device is used as a cradle or swing. The end frames 14 are provided at the end portions of their top rails with hooks 17, which engage eyes 18 on the side rails or frames for locking the side and end frames in the position shown in Fig. 1, in which position the device forms a cradle. The top rails of the end frames 14 are also provided with centrally-located turnbuttons 14 the shanks of which pass through the slots 11 of the bars 10, and the heads of which bear against the outer surfaces of said bars for locking the end frames thereto and preventing the tilting of the cradle. By giving said turn-buttons a quarter-turn their heads, which are flat, may pass through the slots 11 for releasing the end frames and allowing the same to fold inward on their hinged connection with the bottom frame. By means of the thumb-nuts 16 the cradlebody may be adjusted to any desired height. 19 indicates a removable bottom board, which is placed upon the bottom frame 12 either when used as a cradle or a swing.

To adapt the device for use as a swing, one of the-side frames 13 is disengaged from the end frames and folded downward, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 1, it being held in such position and prevented from flapping by means of a hook 20, attached to the lower surface of the bottom frame 12, the said hook engaging an eye or staple 21 on such side frame. A foot-board 22 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) may be attached temporarily to the bottom edge of the pendent side frame, the said foot-board having hooks which enter the eyes or staples 18, above referred to.

In order to convert the device into a clothesdrier, the thumb-nuts 16 are loosened and the bottom frame 12 elevated, as shown in Fig. 2. Both of the side frames are now unhooked from the end frames and lowered into a horizontal position, where they are held by m cans of the hooks 20 at each side of the base frame engaging eyes or staples on the side frames. A horizontal rack is thus formed, and the clothes while in a wet state may be hung upon the wires or rounds of the bottom and .side frames, and the drying of the same may be expedited by swinging the drier.

By manipulating the turn-buttons 11 the end frames may be released from the suspension-bars, and the base-frame 12 may then be swung into a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 3, the side frames also occupying a vertical position and forming extensions of the base'frame. The clothes after being ironed may be hung upon the drier thus provided in the same manner as the wet clothes, and in addition thereto the end frames, the wires or rounds of which are now horizontal, may be used for a like purpose. The drier may be placed near the fire or may be swung in order to hasten the drying of the clothes. When used as aswing or cradle, the distance to which the same may swing can be regulated by a spiral spring 23, attached to one of the standards 1 and having a cord or rope 24:, which may be secured to the adjacent suspension-bar 10, as shown.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that a very useful article of household furniture is provided which is readily converted into a cradle, a swing, or a clothesdrier, and that under each and all of its adjustments and adaptations it is well suited for the several purposes for which it was designed.

It will be apparent that changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. The combination with the supporting- *frame, of the swinging suspension-bars pro vided with the longitudinal slots extending substantially the entire length thereof, and a frame mounted between and carried by said suspension-bars and made adjustable longitudinally thereof, the said frame being composed of a number of hinged sections which may be adjusted to form either a cradle, swing or clothes-drier, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a supportingframe, of swinging suspension-bars, a boxshaped frame adjustable up and down on said bars and consisting of bottom, side and end frames each comprising parallel wires or rounds, said frames being hinged together and adapted to be adjusted into the same or different planes to form either a cradle, swing or clothes-drier, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the supportingframe, of the suspension-bars mounted to swing therein, the frames 12, 13 and 14 carried by said bars and having a hinged relation to each other, means for locking said frames in fixed relation to each other and in a common plane to form a clothes-rack, the parallel wires or rounds forming parts of said frames, and means whereby the said rack may be tilted to either a vertical or horizontal position and held, the same being arranged and adapted for use, substantially as described.

1. The combination with the supportingframe, and the suspension-bars having a hinged connection therewith and formed with longitudinal slots, of an adjustable frame mounted between said bars and comprising the bottom sides and ends, the ends being hinged to the bottom and provided with the turn-buttons operating in the slots of the suspension-bars, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

\l' l LLLUI. llllillllT'l McMORhIE.

Witnesses S. J. MINGS,

'l. C. QUISENBERRY. 

